Cargo of Death - The mystery of the Orang Medan

In 1947 (some reports say '48), while steaming through the Straits of Malacca heading for Indonesia, the Dutch freighter Orang Medan transmitted a bizarre distress call.

"Captain and all officers dead lying in chartroom and on bridge - Probably whole crew dead".

Ships in the vicinity rushed to assist, and when the Orang Medan was sighted, it was drifting with the current. Crewmen of the 'Silver Star' boarded and discovered the crew of the stricken ship dead. Even the ship's dog was in the same state. There were no wounds on their bodies. During the search flames surged out of the hold, the rescuers were forced to flee and the Orang Medan sank.

In February 1948 (or June 1947, depending on which source one consults) a series of distress calls were sent out by the Dutch freighter Orang Medan in the Straits of Malacca between Sumatra and Indonesia.
"All officers including captain dead, lying in chartroom and on bridge, probably whole crew dead... " This chilling message, accompanied by a spate of desperate SOS calls, was followed by indecipherable Morse code... then a final message just two stark words "I die."
Boarding parties found the dead radio operator, his hand on the Morse key, eyes wide open. The entire crew even the ship's dog were discovered in the same terrified posture, all dead.
According to a frequently mentioned document (which I have so far been unable to trace) called The Proceedings of the Merchant Marine Council, the crew were found "teeth bared, with their upturned faces to the sun, staring, as if in fear..."
Following this grim discovery, a fire broke out in the ship's hold.
The boarding parties were forced to abandon her. Shortly after, a violent explosion described in some accounts as so violent the vessel "lifted herself from the water" and she quickly sank.

What killed the crew ? Stories abound.
I first came across this tale in the late 80's while reading a book on strange happenings. The author of which stated that the crew were killed by a swarm of vampire bats issuing from one of the nearby islands. Others believe that it was the sight of a UFO that literally scared them to death.

The real reason may be somewhat more mundane, albeit terrifying in its own way.

What follows is pure speculation, but there is a tantalising, possible explanation as to her crew's demise and her disappearance from the records. Mielke mentions a mixed, lethal cargo on the Dutchman 'Zyankali' (potassium cyanide) and nitroglycerine ... The Nazis as history has shown made horrific use of the extermination gas 'ZyklonB' but, according to Albert Speer in his book Inside the Third Reich (1995), they also had stockpiled a secret gas called 'Tabun' and, as late as 1944, were manufacturing 1,000 tons of this deadly substance each month. According to Speer: "It could penetrate the filters of all known gas masks and contact with even small lingering quantities had fatal effects..."

So was it a leak of nerve agents that caused the fatalities ?
And what caused the fire ? - was it an accident or deliberate scuttling ?

Maybe we will never know - unless the ship is rediscovered.

Cargo of Death

Nice tale Pisky very well presented... kinda reminds me of the infamous Marie Celeste... Its a pity we will never know what happened in cases like this.

recent theories about the bermuda triangle is that methane gass collects deep in the ocean...then somehow currents trigger a release...or underwater earthquakes.

it is believed that is what killed the crew of the infamous mary celeste.
it is probably what took out the crew of Medon too.

if you search you can find links to this phenom. Its been proved on Discovery channel.

rad

What killed the crew ?

Call me crazy, but I think it had something to do with that scary giant baby head floating next to it.

I remember something about this. Wasn't there talk of a cloud or something like that like a kind of mist that engulfed the ship. Ive heard of poisionous gas bubbles coming up from the seabed too.

This link describes how gas bubbles can sink ships. Maybe they can also poison the air nearby, and if people sail into it, poison the crew.

Gas Bubbles from the seabed

The Methene gas theory holds just fine for ships. But what about the missing aircraft?